Victor Orta could complete a mouth-watering Leeds United attack by signing West Brom star Matheus Pereira this summer.
What’s the story?
Reports in recent weeks have suggested that Marcelo Bielsa’s side are keen on landing the Brazilian, although they are set to face significant competition from the likes of fellow Premier League side Aston Villa.
Now, former Leeds ace David Norris has questioned whether a move for Pereira would be the smart choice, and suggested that fans actually wouldn’t be that excited about it.
Should Leeds sign Pereira?
Yes!
No!
Speaking to This is Futbol, he said: “When you’re struggling down there, it’s hard enough to create chances so having that sort of return is decent. I think it wouldn’t be massively overwhelming and the price tag probably reflects that. Fans wise, they’ll be hopeful more than excited.”
Mouth-watering attack for Bielsa
Dubbed as a “genius” by former Nurnberg coach Nate Weiss, the £13.5m-rated Pereira could bring a much-needed spark and creativity from that number ten position for Leeds.
Last season saw him almost single-handedly keep West Brom up in the Premier League, netting 11 goals and providing another six assists as he valiantly tried to rescue the Baggies from relegation.
Meanwhile, another former Leeds man in Noel Whelan has offered his more optimistic thoughts on the possibility of Pereira arriving at Elland Road, saying: “It is a mouth-watering prospect. We missed out on certain players last season, and this is a player that excites everybody. I would definitely take him all day long.
“He’s a fantastic player, he’s great on the ball, he can turn people inside out. Pereira’s another option we can use right across that front three and maybe in a number 10 role as well. He’s the right age and he’s the sort of player we should be looking at. Imagine, if you put him alongside Raphinha, Rodrigo, Harrison etc, that’s pretty formidable.”
And, after a superb display against Aston Villa, former Spurs star Jermain Jenas said of the 25-year-old: “He’s just silky. When he’s on it, he’s just got that lovely left-foot, (tucked) his penalty away, the delivery into the box for set-pieces was brilliant, and he wanted to showcase his skills.”
Given Leeds already have an established number nine in Patrick Bamford, and two key wingers in Raphinha and Jack Harrison, having someone to stitch that altogether in the middle of the park like Pereira would go a long way to completing a dream attack for Bielsa.
As Whelan says, the prospect of those four combining in tandem has all the potential to be “mouth-watering” indeed.
Meanwhile, Phil Hay has dropped an exciting Leeds United transfer update…